Tokyo

Starting from Kawasaki I ride the Tama River to Futakotamagawa and turn onto the cycling road that runs along the No River. It’s not a large path and its shared with pedestrians so you can’t ride too fast. It has a nice feel though as it goes through the city passing by parks and houses built close to the path.

I turn north on Hwy 12 which has a nice cycling lane on it and ride up to the water treatment ponds just north of the Chuo Train line. The entrance to the road can be hard to find. If you look for the intersection of Hwy 12 and Hwy 7 there is a triangle formed by the roads there. The entrance to the road is on the west point of the triangle.

The road is nice and smooth but quickly gets crowded with pedestrians when you get near a population center. Although its not a good road for speed it does give an interesting, direct route through that part of town passing near Kogane and Kodaira Stations. After that it the traffic decreases giving you a nice smooth ascent up to Tama Lake Dam located at the top of the hill.

Tama Lake has a lot of natural beauty despite its proximity to the city. You get a good view looking toward the mountains with the top of the Met Life Dome in the foreground. Looking the other direction, toward the city, on a clear day you can see all the way in to the tall buildings of Shinjuku. On the far side of the dam is an amusement park built by the Seibu Company, who have developed the area. Beyond that, to the north, is Tokorozawa. There is a nice cycling trail built around Sayama Lake that is separated from the car traffic.

From the lake you can either drop down to the Tama River to the south or down into Tokorozawa to the north. It makes for a nice ride through the western part of the city.

Lake Tama Gallery

I cross the Tamagawa on Hwy 111 near Hirama and then take Highway 316 all the way up to Shinagawa.  It is a nice medium sized road that passes by Oumori and Oimachi Stations and continues fairly smoothly until it intersects the canal just south of Odaiba.  There was a nice wide sidewalk with bicycles riding on it that took me parallel to Hwy 316 (Kaigan Dori) all the way up to Hamarikyu Gardens near Shimbashi Station.  

It’s a little challenging to get around Hamamatsucho Station. I have sometimes carried by bike up and over the stairs but, once on the other side it’s a clear going around Hamarikyu and down to Tsukiji. Tsukiji was home of the famous fish market for many years. The market was moved to Toyosu for the Olympics but I’m told that the outer market remains in existence. I find it to be one of the most interesting spots in Tokyo with a historic vibe.

The Sumida River flows into the bay here with lots of ships and barges coming and going. It’s not smooth riding as there are several side canals, but it provides a really unique view of the city. There are large modern buildings lining the shore with ancient looking tugboats pushing barges up the river. There are seagulls and the smell of salt water mixed in with the sights and sounds of the city.

I continue on up the Sumida, riding where ever I can find path. There are fewer canals intersecting the river on the east side so it’s a little easier to ride. You can see the iconic modern Sky Tree Tower standing proudly in the distance. I love the mix of new and old in this part of the city.

I finished this ride over at Shin Koiwa Station. On other rides I’ve continued and crossed the Edogawa, the eastern boundary of Tokyo. It, by the way, has a splendid wide cycling road next to it that is a highway to the north.

Inner City Ride Gallery